Our invention relates to a table for outdoor use and particularly for use on beaches, in camping areas and on lawns where the surface of the ground is uneven and the table is subject to exposure to wind, rain and bright sun.
Outdoor leisure furniture used on beaches, in camping areas and on lawns beside swimming pools, patios and tennis courts is traditionally unstable in use due to the uneven surface and soft texture of the beach, ground or lawn on which the furniture rests, making the furniture likely to tip or blow over in even moderate breezes or storms.
Responding to the need for a table for use outdoors which will not rust or deteriorate due to continued exposure to bright sun, rain, wind and salt spray and which will be affixed to the ground on which it rests so that it will not tip or blow over due to winds and storms, we have invented a unique beach and lawn table which can easily and firmly be affixed to the ground on which the table rests. Moreover, our table is made almost entirely of thermoplastic material and thus is practically impervious to sun, wind, rain and salt spray, making our table ideally suited for outdoor use.
In addition, our table serves as a holder for an umbrella shielding the table from the sun or the holder for a flag, pennant, tiki torch or other accessory.
Simply put, our beach and lawn table is made mainly of injection molded plastic components except for a helical auger made of steel attached to the base of the table. In the interest of economy, the table consists of four separate molded plastic parts, namely, a separate removable table top, a single hollow cylindrical leg, a table base, and a leg cap.
The base is permanently mounted on the lower end of the cylindrical leg of the table by an epoxy glue or other bonding means. Similarly the leg cap is bonded onto the upper end of the table leg. The cap has a cubical extension or lug on its upper face with a cylindrical hole in the upper horizontal face of the cubical extension.
The cubical extension serves two purposes. First, the cylindrical axial hole permits the vertical shaft of an umbrella to be inserted into and held by the cap and leg as a holder for the umbrella or other accessory positioned above the table top.
Secondly, the cubical extension is designed to receive the removable table top and lock the table top into fixed position about the table leg as the table top is used as a wrench to twist the table's auger into the ground as hereinafter more fully described.
In addition to the four plastic components just described, the table also includes a finger-operable set screw mounted on the side of the table's leg to lock the shaft of the umbrella or other accessory into place within the table leg.
The table also includes a helical auger preferably made of cadmium coated steel and having at its lower end a rather sharp point. The upper end of the shaft is welded to a circular steel plate and the steel plate is securely fastened to the underside of the table base with pop rivets or other appropriate fastening means.
When a suitable location for the table has been found, the table top is placed over the cubical lug of the leg cap and the sharpened tip of the auger pushed vertically in to the ground, beach or lawn. Then, using the table top as a wrench, the auger is screwed into the ground until the underside of the table's base is firmly pressed into the surface of the ground. The combination of the resistance of the auger to any movement of the table and the resistance of the ground beneath the table base to any lateral movement of the table provides remarkable stability to the table despite physical blows, strong winds or storms.